Kian Tajbakhsh's Family Denounce Tehran Show Trials

Family
and friends of American detainee, Kian
Tajbakhsh, deny ludicrous charges lodged in 4th Iranian Revolutionary
Court show trial

Kian Tajbakhsh appeared in court in Tehran on August 25

Family and friends of Iranian American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh vehemently deny
the ludicrous charges being lodged against him today in the 4th of a series of
Revolutionary Court show trials. Kian has spent nearly 50 days in illegal
captivity in an undisclosed location and without access to a lawyer. He was
forced under duress to make statements in the context of the first Revolutionary
Court show trial held earlier this month.

The baffling charges being lodged in court today linking Kian
together with high-ranking Iranian reformists purportedly plotting to overthrow
the regime with foreign support are entirely baseless. Kian is not a member of
the Iranian reformist movement and has had no involvement whatsoever in pre- or
post-election unrest. According to Iranian state news and as reported by the
Associated Press, after the court prosecutor read out charges against the
defendants including espionage, contact with foreign elements and acting against
national security, Kian was reported to have emphasized that "since I've had no
contacts with any headquarters inside and outside the country, I have no
evidence to prove foreign interference."